4 benefits of using Minecraft in the classroom

When I met Grade 5 teacher Mark, he came to me with an exciting idea: He wanted me to work with him to teach creative writing through Minecraft in the classroom. I signed him up as my dissertation student in my Master of Education course, and over the following year we got to work on our project.

Minecraft is a sandbox computer game. It is a game that doesn’t have pre-set linear timelines, missions, or goals for players to follow. I like to think of Minecraft as a digital version of LEGOs. Players use base blocks to build imaginary worlds and characters.

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The road from Legos to engineering starts here

When Christos Speros was a little boy, Legos were his favorite toy, the Tampa Bay Times reports. “I loved the way that you can build something from your imagination,” said Christos, 15. As a student at Bayonet Point Middle School, Christos, who wants to become a military engineer, learned that a robotics club was being founded at the school, and that the club would compete in a tournament that involved robots built with Lego parts. “I said, ‘Thank you God,’ ” he said. Christos joined the Bayonet Point Middle robotics club, which last year won two honors at the first annual Robots At Rushe FLL (First LEGO League) Qualifying Tournament. In the Project Category, the Bayonet Point team Patriot Robots took first place and got the Rising Star Award…

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